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No. 4 Stanford Maintains Pac-10 Perfection

Stanford, Calif. - Behind double-doubles from sophomore Cassidy Lichtman and senior Cynthia Barboza, the fourth-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team made easy work of another Pac-10 opponent tonight in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal bested Arizona in three sets, 25-22, 25-18, 25-16, to pick up its 10th consecutive win and fifth consecutive sweep in the competitive Pac-10 Conference.

Stanford improves to 14-2 and remains perfect with a 5-0 mark in conference play. Arizona drops to 12-4 overall and evens its record at 2-2 in the Pac-10.

Barboza picked up 12 kills on the night, marking her sixth consecutive match in double-figures. The senior added 11 digs to pick up her sixth double-double of the year. Lichtman's double-double, earned on 20 assists and 11 digs, was also her sixth of the season. Sophomore Alix Klineman ripped six of her 11 kills in the third set, and senior Foluke Akinradewo chipped in five kills and six blocks.

Stanford hit .327 to extend its streak to nine consecutive matches over .300. The Wildcats hit just .157, the ninth Cardinal opponent in the last ten matches to be held under .200.

Sophomore Alix Klineman picked up two kills and a block in the first four plays of the match, helping Stanford get off to a 4-0 start. Arizona fought back to tie at five with a 5-1 run, and after allowing Stanford to stretch the lead back to three, put together a 4-1 run to tie again at 10. Junior Janet Okogbaa pounded down an overpass to give Stanford a two-point advantage at the media break, 15-13, but Arizona senior Brooke Buringrud put down consecutive kills that brought the set into another tie at 18. Stanford finally took the lead for good on a Foluke Akinradewo kill at 20-19, and a Wildcat attack sailed wide to give Stanford its necessary two-point cushion at 21-19. The Cardinal took set point on a Barboza kill at 24-22, and Cassidy Lichtman put a well-placed kill in the middle to finish things, 25-22. Klineman led the team with four kills in the opening set, and the Cardinal edged Arizona in the hitting column, .294 to .278.

Akinradewo blocked three balls in four plays, sparking an early 7-1 Cardinal run in the second set. Lichtman ripped two kills in a row to extend the lead to six at 9-3, and the sophomore served an ace to push the margin to 11-4. Stanford libero Gabi Ailes served her 10th ace of the year, to make the lead eight at 14-8 and started a two-for-one exchange of points in Stanford's favor. The Cardinal lead hit double-digits with Barboza kill at 20-10, and the team took its largest lead on another kills by the senior at 22-11. Okogbaa gave the team set point at 24-14, but it took five set point tries before Stanford finally finished the deal. Akinradewo picked up the winner with a hard swing at 25-18. Stanford outhit Arizona .235 to .054, with Barboza picking up six of her 12 kills in the second set alone.

Stanford was simply on fire to start the third set, running away before Arizona could even get its bearings. The Cardinal took five consecutive points to go up 6-1, then grabbed another seven points in a row to build a double-figure lead by 14-4. Arizona finally managed to stop the onslaught at 16-5, but could whittle the lead to no less than six. After the Wildcats' fifth block made it 20-14, Stanford rattled off three points in a row, capped by an Alex Fisher kill for Stanford's 23rd point. Set point came on an Arizona service error, and Okogbaa and Fisher put up the winning block in the middle, 25-16. Klineman led the team to its best hitting percentage of the night (.467) with six kills on ten swings in the final set.

Stanford returns to the court on Sunday afternoon, taking on the Arizona State Sun Devils at Maples to conclude its third Pac-10 weekend. First serve is set for 2 p.m.